Jean-François Champollion
Encyclopedia
Jean-François Champollion (23 December 1790 – 4 March 1832) was a French
classical scholar
, philologist
and orientalist
, decipher
er of the Egyptian hieroglyphs
.
Champollion published the first translation of the Rosetta Stone
hieroglyphs in 1822, showing that the Egyptian writing system
was a combination of phonetic and ideographic sign
s.
, Lot
, the last of seven children (two of whom had already died before he was born). He was raised in humble circumstances; because his parents could not afford to send him to school, and he was taught to read by his brother Jacques
. Jacques, although studious and largely self-educated, did not have Jean-François' genius for language; however, he was talented at earning a living, and supported Jean-François for most of his life.
He lived with his brother in Grenoble
for several years, and even as a child showed an extraordinary linguistic
talent. By the age of 16 he had mastered a dozen languages and had read a paper before the Grenoble Academy concerning the Coptic language
. By 20 he could also speak Latin
, Greek
, Hebrew
, Amharic
, Sanskrit
, Avestan, Pahlavi
, Arabic
, Syriac
, Chaldean
, Persian
and Ge'ez in addition to his native French
. In 1809, he became assistant-professor of History at Grenoble
University. His interest in oriental languages, especially Coptic
, led to his being entrusted with the task of decipher
ing the writing on the then recently-discovered Rosetta Stone
, and he spent the years 1822–1824 on this task. His 1824 work Précis du système hiéroglyphique gave birth to the entire field of modern Egyptology
. He also identified the importance of the Turin King List
, and dated the Dendera zodiac
to the Roman period. His interest in Egyptology was originally inspired by Napoleon's Egyptian Campaigns 1798–1801. Champollion was subsequently made Professor of Egyptology
at the Collège de France
.
was one of the first to attempt decipherment
of the Egyptian hieroglyphs
, basing his own work on the investigations of Swedish diplomat
Åkerblad, though he failed to fully decipher the script, Young was able to translate some of the stone leading the way for Champollion to begin his own investigations.
In 1822, Champollion finally published the first correct translation of the hieroglyphs and the key to the grammatical system. Young and all others praised this work.
In 1827 Ippolito Rosellini
, considered the founder of Egyptology in Italy
, went to Paris
for a year in order to improve his knowledge of the method of decipherment
proposed by Champollion. The two philologists decided to organize an expedition to Egypt to confirm the validity of the discovery. Headed by Champollion and assisted by Rosellini his first disciple and great friend, the mission was known as the Franco-Tuscan Expedition, and was made possible by the support of the grand-duke of Tuscany, Leopold II
, and the King of France, Charles X
.
On the 21st of July 1828, with four members, they boarded the ship Eglé at Toulon
and set sail for Egypt. They travelled upstream along the Nile
and studied an exhaustive number of monuments and inscriptions. The expedition led to a posthumously-published extensive Monuments de l'Égypte et de la Nubie (1845). Unfortunately, Champollion's expedition was blemished by unchecked looting. Most notably, while studying the Valley of the Kings
, he damaged KV17
, the tomb of Seti I
, by removing a wall pannel of 2.26 x 1.05 m in a corridor while other elements were removed by his companion Rossellini
or the German expedition of 1845. The scenes are now in the collections of the Louvre
, the museums of Florence and Berlin. During his stay, the Khedive
of Egypt
, Muhammad Ali Pasha
, offered the two obelisks standing at the entrance of Luxor Temple to France in 1829, but only one was transported to Paris
where it now stands on the Place de la Concorde
.
Exhausted by his labours during and after his scientific expedition to Egypt, Champollion died of an apoplectic
attack in Paris in 1832 at the age of 41. He is buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery.
Certain portions of Champollion's works were edited by his elder brother, Jacques Joseph Champollion-Figeac
; Jacques Joseph's son, Aimé-Louis (1812–1894), wrote a biography of the two brothers.
in the 2005 BBC
docudrama Egypt.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
classical scholar
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
, philologist
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
and orientalist
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
, decipher
DECIPHER
DECIPHER is a web-based resource and database of array comparative genomic hybridization data from analysis of patient DNA. It documents submicroscopic chromosome abnormalities, including microdeletions and duplications, from over 6000 patients and maps them to the human genome using the Ensembl...
er of the Egyptian hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs were a formal writing system used by the ancient Egyptians that combined logographic and alphabetic elements. Egyptians used cursive hieroglyphs for religious literature on papyrus and wood...
.
Champollion published the first translation of the Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek...
hieroglyphs in 1822, showing that the Egyptian writing system
Writing system
A writing system is a symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language.-General properties:Writing systems are distinguished from other possible symbolic communication systems in that the reader must usually understand something of the associated spoken language to...
was a combination of phonetic and ideographic sign
Sign (linguistics)
There are many models of the linguistic sign . A classic model is the one by the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure. According to him, language is made up of signs and every sign has two sides : the signifier , the "shape" of a word, its phonic component, i.e...
s.
Biography
Champollion was born in FigeacFigeac
Figeac is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France.Figeac is a sub-prefecture of the department.-History:Figeac is on the via Podiensis, a major hiking medieval pilgrimage trail which is part of the Way of St. James...
, Lot
Lot (département)
Lot is a department in the southwest of France named after the Lot River.- History :Lot is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the province of Languedoc. In 1808, some of the original southeastern cantons were...
, the last of seven children (two of whom had already died before he was born). He was raised in humble circumstances; because his parents could not afford to send him to school, and he was taught to read by his brother Jacques
Jacques Joseph Champollion-Figeac
Jacques Joseph Champollion-Figeac was a French archaeologist, elder brother of Jean-François Champollion .-Biography:He was born at Figeac in the département of Lot...
. Jacques, although studious and largely self-educated, did not have Jean-François' genius for language; however, he was talented at earning a living, and supported Jean-François for most of his life.
He lived with his brother in Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
for several years, and even as a child showed an extraordinary linguistic
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
talent. By the age of 16 he had mastered a dozen languages and had read a paper before the Grenoble Academy concerning the Coptic language
Coptic language
Coptic or Coptic Egyptian is the current stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century. Egyptian began to be written using the Greek alphabet in the 1st century...
. By 20 he could also speak Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, Amharic
Amharic language
Amharic is a Semitic language spoken in Ethiopia. It is the second most-spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Thus, it has official status and is used nationwide. Amharic is also the official or working...
, Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, Avestan, Pahlavi
Parthian language
The Parthian language, also known as Arsacid Pahlavi and Pahlavanik, is a now-extinct ancient Northwestern Iranian language spoken in Parthia, a region of northeastern ancient Persia during the rule of the Parthian empire....
, Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, Syriac
Syriac language
Syriac is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. Having first appeared as a script in the 1st century AD after being spoken as an unwritten language for five centuries, Classical Syriac became a major literary language throughout the Middle East from...
, Chaldean
Chaldean Neo-Aramaic
Chaldean Neo-Aramaic is a Northeastern Neo-Aramaic dialect. Chaldean Neo-Aramaic is spoken on the plain of Mosul in northern Iraq, as well as by the Chaldean communities worldwide. Most speakers are Chaldean Catholics....
, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and Ge'ez in addition to his native French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
. In 1809, he became assistant-professor of History at Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
University. His interest in oriental languages, especially Coptic
Coptic language
Coptic or Coptic Egyptian is the current stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century. Egyptian began to be written using the Greek alphabet in the 1st century...
, led to his being entrusted with the task of decipher
DECIPHER
DECIPHER is a web-based resource and database of array comparative genomic hybridization data from analysis of patient DNA. It documents submicroscopic chromosome abnormalities, including microdeletions and duplications, from over 6000 patients and maps them to the human genome using the Ensembl...
ing the writing on the then recently-discovered Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek...
, and he spent the years 1822–1824 on this task. His 1824 work Précis du système hiéroglyphique gave birth to the entire field of modern Egyptology
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
. He also identified the importance of the Turin King List
Turin King List
The Turin King List, also known as the Turin Royal Canon, is a hieratic papyrus thought to date from the reign of Ramesses II, now in the Museo Egizio at Turin...
, and dated the Dendera zodiac
Dendera zodiac
The sculptured Dendera zodiac is a widely known Egyptian bas-relief from the ceiling of the pronaos of a chapel dedicated to Osiris in the Hathor temple at Dendera, containing images of Taurus and the Libra . This chapel was begun in the late Ptolemaic period; its pronaos was added by the...
to the Roman period. His interest in Egyptology was originally inspired by Napoleon's Egyptian Campaigns 1798–1801. Champollion was subsequently made Professor of Egyptology
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
at the Collège de France
Collège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
.
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Thomas YoungThomas Young (scientist)
Thomas Young was an English polymath. He is famous for having partly deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphics before Jean-François Champollion eventually expanded on his work...
was one of the first to attempt decipherment
Decipherment
Decipherment is the analysis of documents written in ancient languages, where the language is unknown, or knowledge of the language has been lost....
of the Egyptian hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs were a formal writing system used by the ancient Egyptians that combined logographic and alphabetic elements. Egyptians used cursive hieroglyphs for religious literature on papyrus and wood...
, basing his own work on the investigations of Swedish diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
Åkerblad, though he failed to fully decipher the script, Young was able to translate some of the stone leading the way for Champollion to begin his own investigations.
In 1822, Champollion finally published the first correct translation of the hieroglyphs and the key to the grammatical system. Young and all others praised this work.
Franco-Tuscan Expedition
Ippolito Rosellini
Ippolito Rosellini was an Italian Egyptologist.-Early life:He was born at Pisa. After graduating in theology, he studied under Mezzofanti at Bologna, and in 1824 became professor of oriental languages at Pisa University.-Association with Jean-François Champollion:He was the first disciple, a...
, considered the founder of Egyptology in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
for a year in order to improve his knowledge of the method of decipherment
Decipherment
Decipherment is the analysis of documents written in ancient languages, where the language is unknown, or knowledge of the language has been lost....
proposed by Champollion. The two philologists decided to organize an expedition to Egypt to confirm the validity of the discovery. Headed by Champollion and assisted by Rosellini his first disciple and great friend, the mission was known as the Franco-Tuscan Expedition, and was made possible by the support of the grand-duke of Tuscany, Leopold II
Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Leopold II of Tuscany was the last reigning grand duke of Tuscany ....
, and the King of France, Charles X
Charles X of France
Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...
.
On the 21st of July 1828, with four members, they boarded the ship Eglé at Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
and set sail for Egypt. They travelled upstream along the Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
and studied an exhaustive number of monuments and inscriptions. The expedition led to a posthumously-published extensive Monuments de l'Égypte et de la Nubie (1845). Unfortunately, Champollion's expedition was blemished by unchecked looting. Most notably, while studying the Valley of the Kings
Valley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings , less often called the Valley of the Gates of the Kings , is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom .The valley stands on the west bank of...
, he damaged KV17
KV17
Tomb KV17, located in Egypt's Valley of the Kings and also known by the names "Belzoni's tomb", "the Tomb of Apis", and "the Tomb of Psammis, son of Nechois", is the tomb of Pharaoh Seti I of the Nineteenth Dynasty. It is one of the best decorated tombs in the valley, but now is almost always...
, the tomb of Seti I
Seti I
Menmaatre Seti I was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt , the son of Ramesses I and Queen Sitre, and the father of Ramesses II...
, by removing a wall pannel of 2.26 x 1.05 m in a corridor while other elements were removed by his companion Rossellini
Ippolito Rosellini
Ippolito Rosellini was an Italian Egyptologist.-Early life:He was born at Pisa. After graduating in theology, he studied under Mezzofanti at Bologna, and in 1824 became professor of oriental languages at Pisa University.-Association with Jean-François Champollion:He was the first disciple, a...
or the German expedition of 1845. The scenes are now in the collections of the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
, the museums of Florence and Berlin. During his stay, the Khedive
Khedive
The term Khedive is a title largely equivalent to the English word viceroy. It was first used, without official recognition, by Muhammad Ali Pasha , the Wāli of Egypt and Sudan, and vassal of the Ottoman Empire...
of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Muhammad Ali Pasha
Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha was a commander in the Ottoman army, who became Wāli, and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan...
, offered the two obelisks standing at the entrance of Luxor Temple to France in 1829, but only one was transported to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where it now stands on the Place de la Concorde
Place de la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.- History :...
.
Exhausted by his labours during and after his scientific expedition to Egypt, Champollion died of an apoplectic
Apoplexy
Apoplexy is a medical term, which can be used to describe 'bleeding' in a stroke . Without further specification, it is rather outdated in use. Today it is used only for specific conditions, such as pituitary apoplexy and ovarian apoplexy. In common speech, it is used non-medically to mean a state...
attack in Paris in 1832 at the age of 41. He is buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery.
Certain portions of Champollion's works were edited by his elder brother, Jacques Joseph Champollion-Figeac
Jacques Joseph Champollion-Figeac
Jacques Joseph Champollion-Figeac was a French archaeologist, elder brother of Jean-François Champollion .-Biography:He was born at Figeac in the département of Lot...
; Jacques Joseph's son, Aimé-Louis (1812–1894), wrote a biography of the two brothers.
In popular culture
Champollion was portrayed by Elliot CowanElliot Cowan
Elliot Cowan is an English actor, known for portraying Corporal Jem Poynton in Ultimate Force, Mr Darcy in Lost in Austen and Ptolemy in the 2004 film Alexander.-Background:...
in the 2005 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
docudrama Egypt.
Works
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;- Others – Principes généraux de l'écriture sacrée, new edition with a preface by Christiane ZieglerChristiane ZieglerChristiane Ziegler , is a French Egyptologist, curator, director emeritus of the Department of Egyptian Antiquities of the Louvre Museum and editorial director of the archaeological mission from the Louvre Museum at Saqqara, Egypt.-Early years:Ziegler was a student at the Institut de Science...
, Institut d'Orient, 1984.
Musées Champollion
- A museum devoted to Jean-François Champollion was created in his birthplace at FigeacFigeacFigeac is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France.Figeac is a sub-prefecture of the department.-History:Figeac is on the via Podiensis, a major hiking medieval pilgrimage trail which is part of the Way of St. James...
in Lot. It was inaugurated 19 December 1986 in the presence of President François MitterrandFrançois MitterrandFrançois Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
and Jean LeclantJean LeclantJean Leclant was a renowned Egyptologist who was an Honorary Professor at the College of France, Permanent Secretary of the Academy of Inscriptions and Letters of the Institut de France, and Honorary Secretary of the ....
, secrétaire perpétuel of the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres. After two years of building work and extension, the museum re-opened in 2007. Besides Champollion's life and discoveries, the museum also recounts the history of writing. The whole façade is covered in pictogramPictogramA pictograph, also called pictogram or pictogramme is an ideogram that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and graphic systems in which the characters are to considerable extent pictorial in appearance.Pictography is a...
s, from the original ideogramIdeogramAn ideogram or ideograph is a graphic symbol that represents an idea or concept. Some ideograms are comprehensible only by familiarity with prior convention; others convey their meaning through pictorial resemblance to a physical object, and thus may also be referred to as pictograms.Examples of...
s of the whole world. - The "*Maison Champollion" at VifVif, IsèreVif is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France....
in Isère, formerly the property of Jean-François's brother.